Private MD News

Testosterone deficiency becoming more common

Category: Male Specific Tests

As men age, their testosterone levels tend to decrease. This can have a major impact on their quality of life. However, testosterone testing may help them to be diagnosed with the problem and allow their doctors to start looking for a solution.

Some experts say that the problem is more prevalent today than it was in previous generations. Dr. Anthony O'Connell of Forest Park Medical Center in Dallas told local news station KDAF that the generational decline has become so common that many men now suffer from low testosterone.

"Typically, testosterone levels decline 0.5 percent to 1 percent per year, but what we've seen over the past two or three generations - there has been a generational decline in testosterone levels where a 40-year-old man today will have had a lower testosterone level than a 40-year-old man 20 or 30 years ago," O'Connell told the news source.

A study in the journal Aging Male found that this generational shift to lower testosterone levels can mostly be blamed on higher levels of obesity, diabetes and stress. The researchers urged that more men seek testosterone testing to find out if they have a problem.